This past Monday, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT)announced that it would begin measuring the effectiveness of online campaigns in a new way, which they have dubbed "Engagement Mapping."

Usually, the last ad a consumer saw online or clicked on got the credit for the sale, the lead or the traffic generated.

But with so many marketing channels being available to online advertisers, consumers are often reached multiple times on different sites in different ways, says John Chandler, principal analyst for Microsoft's Atlas Division.

"Instead of giving 100% of the credit to the last ad clicked, Engagement Mapping will take into account all of the marketing touch points when attributing conversion," he noted.

Microsoft said it will release a beta version of Engagement ROI, an integrated reporting capability within Microsoft's Atlas Media Console, on March 1.

National advertising clients and agencies such as Mindshare Interaction, Monster Worldwide, Sprint (NYSE:S) and Citi Cards (NYSE: C) have already signed up to participate in the program.

“Engagement ROI spans the whole lifecycle of the campaign,” Chandler said.

Microsoft anticipates that by using engagement ROI, rich media and video will be much stronger performers in terms of driving sales.

"What makes this unique is the fact that they are putting the information into the hands of the advertisers," Roy Shkedi, CEO of AlmondNet, commented, "The advertiser can now have a report that shows the steps that led to the final acquisition."

Mike Sprouse, Chief Marketing Officer of AzoogleAds noted “On the positive side, it's a very good indicator that the current metrics and measurement tactics for online marketers doesn't really provide a comprehensive view of a campaign's performance.”  Still, he was skeptical that Microsoft's solution is the answer.

“I'm not sure engagement mapping is an easy to understand term,” he added. "For it to reach broad adoption, it has to be general enough to encompass a wide variety of actions on the Internet and also needs to be really simple and easy to understand."

No kidding. I'm still confused as to how they will be able to track a consumer across all the channels they might cross before making a buying decision or taking some action desired by the advertiser. Particularly at a time when there is increasing concern about privacy on the Internet, I'm not sure how they can claim to essentially track a consumer every step of the way to a sale.

We'll keep an eye out for reports of its success once the beta launches next month.

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In yesterday's blog, I told you how it looked like Microsoft was backing off its attempt to buy Yahoo!, as Bill Gates said they would not up their offer and indicated they could move on with or without Yahoo!.

Turns out Bill was doing a bit of a fake out on us. Now we learn that Microsoft is taking a different tack, essentially running an end around the current Yahoo! board of directors' rejection of their offer. Microsoft is now planning to to start a proxy fight to try to replace Yahoo's board of directors with a slate of more Microsoft friendly directors.

This story for the San Jose Mercury News gives you all the current details.

Looks like Yahoo! may have to give a call to Rupert Murdoch at Newscorp after all.

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A few weeks ago, Microsoft fired a shot at Yahoo!, rattling their sabres at the same time, and indicating that they fully intended to buy Yahoo!

Since then, Google has offered to help in any way they could, albeit short of buying Yahoo! as that would be a merger that would never pass anti-trust muster. Rupert Murdoch's Newscorp also stepped in, renewing talks with Yahoo! regarding possible joint ventures or a merger.

And if these efforts weren't enough, Microsoft's stock has fallen 13%, reducing the cash and stock offer from its original $44.6 billion value to about $41 billion.

No one, outside of the Microsoft campus, seemed to want to see Yahoo! fall in Microsoft's hands. Many observers expected Microsoft to sweeten the pot, but now, based on statements made by Bill Gates, it appears Microsoft is moving on.

A story appearing on Reuters indicates that Gates has no intention of increasing their bid, saying Microsoft's offer is "very fair" and "We can afford to make big investments in the engineering and marketing that needs to get done. We will do that with or without Yahoo!."

Since Yahoo! has already rejected the original offer, and the deal is now worth less due to Microsoft's stock valuation, it looks like Microsoft is moving on and Yahoo! is safe for the time being.

Of course, that doesn't mean that Newscorp might not continue its pursuit of Yahoo!

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Yahoo! just told Microsoft to take a hike.

Yahoo's decision to reject Microsoft's $44.6 billion takeover attempt has led to speculation as to what's next for the staggering online media giant.

 A statement released by Yahoo!'s board of directors stated that the bid "substantially undervalues Yahoo including our global brand, large worldwide audience, significant recent investments in advertising platforms and future growth prospects, free cash flow and earnings potential, as well as our substantial unconsolidated investments."

Translation-- $44.6 billion is not enough for Yahoo! to be led down the aisle somewhat willingly.

This has led to several possible scenarios. One has Microsoft continuing to press Yahoo! by taking the proposal directly to its shareholders. No doubt, more than a few shareholders would love to cash out and move on.

In another scenario, Microsoft might sweeten the offer to make it palatable to the Yahoo! board, which has made known its belief that the bid undervalues the company.

Yet another scenario has Yahoo! taking defensive measures and either partnering with Google on search advertising (which will draw heavy scrutiny from regulators) or by again discussing a possible merger with the AOL unit of Time Warner.

Microsoft desperately wants to close the gap between it and Google, far and away the leader in search engines. But even though the marriage of Yahoo! and Microsoft would combine the No. 2 and 3 players,  "Micro-hoo" (as it's unofficially been dubbed) would still substantially trail Google.

Regardless, the game is on. Don't expect Microsoft to go away quietly.  

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Google's chief executive, Eric Schmidt, has sent a message loud and clear to Yahoo!-- "Let's circle the  wagons and hold off Microsoft together."

Google, of course, has the financial clout to go toe-to-toe with Microsoft. The problem is, Google can't counter Microsoft's offer to buy Yahoo!. That would be a marriage that would never pass anti-trust law muster.

As a side note, because off Google's dominance of the search engine markets, a Microsoft purchase of Yahoo! probably would sail by any anti-trust concerns. Even a combined Microsoft-Yahoo! would still substantially trail Google in search engine market share.

So how can Google possibly step in and help Yahoo!

One solution, that might actually work, can be found in this New York Times article.

Basically, Google could buy the right to sell ads on Yahoo!'s search results. This could give Yahoo! a long term guarantee of advertising revenue on its search results pages and theorically goose the stock price, thereby somewhat appeasing Yahoo! shareholders.

It could also buy Yahoo! more time to figure out it's place in the Internet universe and reshape itself into a much stronger player, one that could maintain its indepdendence as a corporate entity.

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According to Comscore, in December, Google's share of core searches stood at 58.4 percent. Yahoo! ranked second with 22.9 percent, followed by Microsoft Sites at 9.8 percent, Time Warner Network at 4.6 percent, and Ask Network in fourth place with 4.3 percent.

Interestingly, Yahoo! experienced the most significant market share increase, gaining 0.5 share points as compared to November. This is as Yahoo! finds its stock price depressed and the company considering layoffs as a means to turn things around.

Regardless, they are all chasing Google, and Google remains so far out in front, their hold on the marketplace seems insurmountable.

The challenge facing the runner-ups is daunting. Is it a matter of changing their marketing to attract more searchers? Explore new options to offer?

I'm not sure what the answer is for any of them, particularly Yahoo!. Normally, being number two in a market with nearly a 23% share of that market would be a good place to be, but in the world of Internet search engines, not so.

Yahoo! investors want more. Unfortunately, that probably means the chopping block for some Yahoo! employees.

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Looking to learn a new language?

Maybe you want to try your hand at cooking a new dish?

Want to learn to play the guitar?

There are thousands of free tutorials on the Internet that teach such things as foreign langaues, guitar playing, cooking, exercise methods, computer skills, magic tricks... darn near anything you might want to study and learn. 

Most are in video format, allowing you to pause the action whne necessary and watch these step-by-step guides as often as you wish. Here are just a few of the sites you can check out to learn a new talent or skill:

• expertvillage.com
• ehow.com
• instructables.com
• tricklife.com

And there are many, many more you can find by doing a search in your favorite search engine.

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Used to be that if you wanted to research public records, you were destined to have to scour materials in a public library, county office or some other public building. Now you can save yourself the trip (at least, in most instances).

You can find public databases, the majority of which are free, on such information as military records, college alumni, criminal records vehicle registrations, obituaries, property ownership and more. Two great online resources for doing this are VirtualGumshoe.com and PublicRecordSources.com.

Check them out. they might save you time and money.

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The final figures aren't in yet, but Internet ad spending continues to be a growth industry (even if a lot of companies still haven't figured out how to advertise properly on the Web).

Year end figures aren't available yet, but according to BusinessWeek, through the first nine months of 2007, Internet ad spending stood at $5.2 billion. That's about a 27% leap over 2006's $4.1 billion in the first nine months.

Contrast that with $15.5 billion for network TV in the first nine months of 2007, down from $16.0 billion in 2006.

Watch for this trend to continue. More dollars will plow into Internet advertising and netwrok ad spending will remain roughly even, if they're lucky.

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Maybe we should make that (Web) address, since we are actually talking about URLs. Or better yet, we'll go with domain name.

While I tend to spend less than ten bucks a pop for domain when I decide to buy one, other people seem to think some domain names are worth millions. Here are the most expensive domain names/web addresses purchased in 2006 and 2007--

2006: Diamond.com ($7.5 million), Vodka.com ($3 million), Cameras.com ($1.5 million)

2007: Porn.com ($9.5 million), Computer.com ($2.1 million), Seniors.com ($1.8 million)

Pretty ridiculous, huh? Especially when you consider that very few searchers on the Web would ever enter those URLs in a search term.

I'm sure whoever is behind them considers it part of their branding, but does that really do much in the branding department? I don't think so. All they are doing is enriching whoever had the names before them. i guess there really is money to made in domain name squatting.

Whoever bought those domain names should instead consider investing in search engine optimization/search engine marketing rather than over-priced URLs. They'd definitely get more bang for their buck.  

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  Microsoft has launched its new mobile display advertising feature on MSN Mobile. MSN Mobile advertising partners currently include Paramount Pictures and Jaguar Cars North America, who began placing banner and text ads on the Mobile MSN site in the US at http://mobile.msn.com yesterday (December 10, 2007).

MSN Mobile will offer additional content and services to US customers including the ability to purchase movie tickets, ring tones, wallpaper, games and video clips.

Will we see a battle for mobile platform supremacy in the near future?

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Every now and then, someone asks me where they can go for overall information on how they can build their business. And, knowing I have a love of copywriting, they also ask me where they can find information that will help them write better promotional materials and website content for their business.

Well, there's one site that week-in-and-week-out seems to offer up great marketing, advertising and copywriting advice. On the surface, it's focus is on copywriting, but, in realty, every week it features several articles that touch on the much broader aspects of marketing and advertising.

It's Clayton Makepeace's Total Package and it's a continued source of inspiration and solid marketing advice for me and thousands of others.

So if you're looking for ways to produce better responses to your marketing efforts, both online and offline, visit it roday. In fact, if you stop by this link and sign up, they'll send you some great free white papers/reports that any marketer could benefit from reading.

in addition, there are close to 300 articles on marketing, advertising and copywriting available there. Check it out.

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Well, John and Terrence made it to the Great Wall of China (as evidenced by the photos below).

Oddly enough, it was still standing after they left.

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Apparently, John and Terrence feel like they can actually take a break in their travels and eat.

Here we see them dining at one of the best Sichuan restaurants in Shangshi.

What, you expected them to find a McDonalds in Shangshi?

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John and Terrence are on the move, and are now in mainland China at the city of Shenzhen. They'll be meeting with some of those companies I told you about yesterday.

In the meantime, here's a shot of them on their flight--

Look like a couple of trouble makers to me.

And this is the view from the limo they were riding in last night (hey, I admit you can't see much. Work with me, okay?))--

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As I write this, John and Terrence are somewhere in Taipai, having arrived in Hong Kong over the weekend and now having moved onto Taipai. They will be meeting with representatives of several well known companies, including a consuemr goods/baby care products company, a leading luxury car maker and a maker of a popular sauce that my daughter happens to love.

They'll soon be moving on to meet other clients and propsecitive clients, but for now, they're staying in a hotel in Taipei that gives them an excellent view of the world's tallest inhabited building. In researching "world's tallest buildings," I discovered that there is a dispute as to what defines a building vs. a structure.

For now, it's safe to say that Taipei 101 in Taipei, Taiwan is the tallest inhabited structure.

Take a look for yourself in this photo John took--

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U.S. District Court Judge John H. McBryde has decided to let American Airlines proceed with its lawsuit against Google.

The airline's complaint alleges that Google allows rivals to pay to have links to their sites appear when computer users search Google for American trademark terms, such as AAdvantage. American claims that Google was infringing on its trademarks and deceiving consumers.

Google has successfully fought lawsuits making similar claims in the past. GEICO had sued Google for similar reasons but Google prevailed in that matter. And reportedly other companies have filed similar lawsuits against Google alleging that paid advertising by competitors amounts to trademark infringement.

The Judge actually gave no reason for his ruling, but it is interesting that he must have found reason to ignore the precedence established by the GEICO case against Google.

Should American prevail, and odds are an actual trial is still far off in the future (not to mention the appeals that will no doubt follow), the case has the potential to change the face on online advertising. Worse for Google, it potentially could strike a blow to their whole business model.

We'll keep track of the case as it slowly develops. 

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... and Terrence leaves for China tomorrow.

His going away party was a success, particularly since some former Zunchers stopped by to help celebrate and to wish him good luck.

In just a few days, Terrence will be back in China, although he won't be alone for long. John Sanchez, our CEO, will be joining him there this weekend and the two of them will begin a whirlwind tour that has them crisscrossing China to meet with clients and prospective clients throughout the country.

Their journey begins in Hong Kong early next week, and we'll give you daily updates on their trip, hopefully including a few photos now-and-then.

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Terrence Ou, our expert on China, is about to hit the road again for China. Only this time, he's going to be gone for a long, long time.

You see, China is proving to be a major source of potential business and many Chinese businesses prefer being able to have face-to-face meetings to e-mails and long distance phone calls.

And after his recent book signing tour and stint promoting Zunch in China, it just made sense that Terrence should move to China (Beijing to be exact) and operate from there. Besides, Terrrence has wanted to relocate to China for some time, so it's not like we had to twist his arm to get him to do it.

So soon, when you see Terrence's posts both here and on the Zunch China blog, they'll be originating from China, rather than the home office in Dallas.

And tonight we're throwing a going away party for Terrence as his send off for the Far East. Should be a fun time for all.

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Who says the search engiens ignore the advertisers that they derive so much income from?...well, maybe its kinda true on the click fraud front.

Google Adwords has added a new page for Adword users called "Keyword Anaysis Page."  You can read all about it here.

With this tool, you can get more information about the Quality Score for keywords being used in advertisements. While it's not perfect, it could be a key tool for Adword users to make use of in crafting their campaigns.

Hey, Google is even asking for feedback on the tool, so try it out and let them know what you think.

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Apparently, Microsoft has a breaking point. After spending hundreds of millions fighting anti-trust allegations in Europe (including some hefty fines), they've finally decided to give in.

Read about it here.

After a nine year fight, Microsoft has finally seen the writing on the wall. This should mean both lower prices and faster development of new software.

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Click fraud just won't go away. In fact, despite repeated promises by Google, Yahoo! and others, it continues to be a growing problem.

Read all about it here.

If you're concerned about this problem that the search engines apparently can't or won't do anything about, check out Zunch's own Click Fraud Detective for your solutions to this pervasive problem.

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A recent survey by Forrester Research tells us that are three things visitors want when they come to your website. And if you do these things, the odds of having them stick around, and become a client or customer (if you happen to be offering a service or product) increase tenfold.

The top three things website visitors seek:

1. High-quality information: Content is the biggest influence on a visitor's decision to return to a website. If they don't see anything of interest, they're out of there. Sometimes in as little as five seconds

2. Ease of use: The site architecture should be simple and intuitive. Basically, I (an extremely technically challenged type) should be able to find what I'm looking for without a lot of work.

3. Quick to download: Visitors hate lag time as a site downloads. They get frustrated if they have to wait more than a few seconds for a page to download. and most will abandon your site in less than five seconds if they are forced to wait.

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While we can't quite spill the beans yet, we've got some major announcements upcoming regarding Zunch China.

As you know, Terrence recently returned from there. We're finalizing a few details now, so watch for the announcement in the coming week.

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Hey, Terrence just walked in the door. Fresh off a very long flight home from China.

And he comes bearing gifts. He just handed me a copy of his book, SEO Unlocked, and a hand fan.

I'm guessing the fan is for my wife and kids. Make that my wife, the fan is really cool and my kids would probably manage to tear it up in less than 24 hours.

After he settles in and shares some details of his trip, I'll update you on how things are going in China.

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...good luck finding a parking space at your favorite restaurant. Even in the North Dallas area.

The Red River Shootout is the annual meeting between Oklahoma and Texas. I've never attended one, although I did once make the mistake of attending the State Fair of the Texas on the day of the game.

You see, the game takes place on a Saturday in October and is played at the Cotton Bowl, which just happens to be in the middle of the State Fair of Texas. And attending the State Fair on Texas-OU day is not a good thing, because the already packed State Fair has another 80,000+ crazed fans dumped on the grounds. Being there is kind of like being a sardine that can move around in the can, but can't really get anywhere.

So, since then, I've avoided the Fair Park area, where both the Cotton Bowl and the State Fair are located, on the Saturday on the Texas-OU game.

However, the Red River Shootout also brings thousands of Ut and Oklahoma fans to the area. And they apparently are no longer content to eat in Dallas city proper.

I decided to eat at Snuffer's in Addison for lunch (one of my favorite restaurants).

When I got there, I couldn't find a place to park. in fact, I ended up in parking a few blocks away. The restaurant was as packed as the parking lot. And everywhere i looked, I saw either burnt orange or crimson. The UT-OU fans have moved north of downtown Dallas, invading Addison in general and Snuffers in particular.

Worse, I had to wait on a table and then it took forever to get my order. A very un-Snuffer's like experience, since usually the staff falls all over themselves to serve you.

Now I love college football. And the Sooners are my second favorite college team.

But can't we pass a rule banning UT-OU fans from wandering north of the Dallas city limits during the Red River Shootout?

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Hey, I just realized that our state-side readers, both of them, porbably haven't seen Terrence's hot seller-- "SEO Unlocked."

So here's your first look. Unless you're fluent in Mandarin, I kind of doubt you'll understand most of it--

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Terrence, our man in China, is quietly preparing for his return to the US. In the meantime, he's been visting with Chinese businesses, introducing them to Zunch, and probably offering to sell them a copy of his book SEO Unlocked..

I'm not sure if there's a Chinese version of the business book best seller list, but if there is, I'm betting Terrence's book is on it.

We'll get a full update from Terrence upon his return.

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I am a college football fan. I'd much rather watch college ball than the NFL. And I think I'm a pretty good prognosticator (at least heads up; i'm not much of a gambler so I never mess with the point spread).

So today, I'm introducing my college picks of the week.

Although this is going to be an early edition with only one game discussed, simply because a game of interest to me is being played tonight-- Texas A&M at Miami.

Now before you assume i'm an unbiased observer and decide to trust my picks, you need to understand that I do have my biases.

For starters, I wish failure on the Aggies every week. As a Texas Tech alumn, I just can't bring myself to root for the Ags. Sorry, it just goes back to the days of the old Southwest Conference and when one Jackie Sherrill elevated the buying of players to an art form, while also starting the near ridiculous escalation of coaches' salaries.

Not that I don't want coaches to be well paid. But there's just something wrong with a coach, take Nick Saban for example, pulling down $4 million a year while he's got players who can't buy a meal if the cafeteria happens to be closed.

But I digress..

Coach Fran at A&M has been awful cocky lately, and I'm not really sure why. It's not like he's won any conferences title or anything like that. Heck, he hasn't even managed to beat Tech yet. In fact, A&M seems to have a hard time with Tech. In the 2006-2007 college season, Tech beat A&M both on the gridiron and on the basketball court.

In fact, I think Tech has won 9 of the last 12 meetings between the football teams. A&M doesn't consider Tech a rival, and with a record like that, they're right. That's not a rivalry, that's outright dominance by Tech.

But I digress again...

A&M barely escaped against Fresno State, and it has dominated its other two opponents, Montana State and Louisiana Monroe, but that's nothing to brag about. Sorry, Ags, but while you think you're a top ten program, the reality is, you'll be lucky to finish in the top 25 this year.

Miami is in similar straits, although they have played at least one quality opponent. Unfortunately, for them, their one game was at OU, resulting in a severe spanking being administered to them by Oklahoma.

 Tonight, Fran will be exposed, and the Aggies downward spiral will begin. No kidding, I peg the Aggies finishing out the year at 7 and 5, and that's figuring they'll be in better shape than UT come Thanksgiving weekend.

Miami is out to prove that they are making their way back among the elite, although I think they know they've got a ways to go. Still, I have a feeling that the Canes won't fall to two Big 12 programs in one season, so watch for the Canes to not just win, but whip up on the Aggies. We'll also learn that the Ags need to go shopping for some receivers.

The score? I hate predicting scores, it's such a fruitless endeavor, but what the heck, try 27-14, with the Canes on top.

Tomorrow: My picks for the remainder of the weekend.

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Microsoft, that company that so many love to hate (although don't include Zuncher Dan in that group), might have to pony up a $613 million fine handed done by the European Union soon.

They just lost their appeal and have two months to decide whether or not to appeal the appeal (kinda redundant, ain't it?). You can read all about it here.

The EU Court of First Instance, which I gather is what you call an appeals court in EU circles, ruled against Microsoft  on the major parts of the case, stating that the European Commission was correct in concluding that the company was guilty of monopoly abuse in trying to use its power over desktop computers to muscle into server software.

Microsoft? A monopoly?

Who knew?

Trust me. Even though Microsoft has more than enough cash to pay the fine, they're going to appeal. They literally have no choice since ultimately losing on this issue could mean they will be forced to reveal code and otherwise valuable intellectual property in order to comply with the EU's findings. 

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Back when I had hopes of earning an MBA, I was taking a marketing class where I managed to ace the course thanks largely to a paper and presentation I did on Southwest Airlines.

From its earliest days, Southwest had always successfully marched to the beat of a different drummer. As did its longtime CEO and President, Herb Kelleher, who infused it with a sense of humor and a atmosphere of success.

It has easily been the premier success story in airline history. Other airlines studied it, trying to figure out how it managed to profitable year after year while so many other either sought bankruptcy protection or teetered on the verge of bankruptcy.

After an extensive study, an exasperated American Airlines exec concluded, "That place runs on Herb Kelleher's bull****."

Well, maybe not so much anymore. The iconic airline has managed to take itself down a peg, acting like its snobbier brethren.  In fact, it appears Southwest has hired the clothes police to screen passengers.

You can read about it here.

The incident has gained national exposure and even got Kyla Ebbert, the target of Southwest’s clothes police, a few minutes on the Today show.

This from the airline that once famously clad its flight attendants in hot pants?

I’m guessing there was a lapse in judgment for the Southwest rep who decided Kyla was under-dressed. Either that or she gave him some bad service at the Hooters where she works.

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Not content with allowing us to stare down at our homes and offices from the heavens using Google Earth, Google now bring us Sky, which essentially turns the telescope around and points it at the rest of the universe.

 By downloading the latest version of Google Earth, you now can get Sky, Google’s eye on the universe, with it.

Download it and you’ll be able to zoom in on more than 100 million stars, 200 million galaxies, our solar system's planets and our moon. You can also see constellations and high-resolution images from the Hubble Telescope.

Sky also features a search function that allows instant viewing of specific astronomical features.

Check it out.

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Just got back from a copywriter's seminar in Sin City itself-- Las Vegas.

The seminar was on the subject of nuero-linguistic programming  (NLP) and its use in copywriting. Really interesting stuff that I'll be trying to incorporate into content that I create for Zunch clients in the future.

Anyway, this was my third trip to Vegas in three years. Each time I've been there has been for a copywriting seminar or conference.

And even though the casinos are tempting, in three visits I have yet to drop so much as a quarter into a slot machine or engage in any other form of gambling.

Why? I mean I know people who dream about going to Vegas and think I'm nuts for not gambling.

Basically, I hate to lose money. And when the best odds are 50/50 (playing Blackjack), I don't feel secure enough in those odds to toss any money on the table. Incidentally, the worst odds in a casino are on the slot machines, only something like a 27% chance of winning on each spin.

I'm not real sure why the leading copywriters insist on holding these seminars in Vegas. Although I do know that the guy who organzied this one took in Celine Dion on the first night there.

Did I mention I also think most of the shows in Vegas are pretty lame?

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Boy, send a guy out to promote his book and visit with Zunch clients in China and what happens...?

Not sure what'd up with Terrence in the below photo, but we may want to hide this post from his wife. I never knew the guy was such a lady's man.

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I'll spare you the details, since there really aren't that many. But last week my wife, the kids and I headed to Gulf Shores, Alabama for a few days at the beach.

The trip there and the time spent there was pretty uneventful, other than the fact that it seemed like everyone in Alabam looks a lot like Larry the Cable Guy.

But the journey back? Let's just say we are now of the opinion that Louisiana must be pretty desperate for cash and has turned its highways into the country's single largest speed trap.

My wife got nailed, not once, but twice with speeding tickets.

Now, admittedly, we know we aren't supposed to speed, but man, that stretch between Lafayette and Shreveport is one of the most mind-numbingly boring stretches of road I've ever seen. It practically begs you to speed just to get to some changed scenery.

Hate to tell you this Louisiana, but any plans we had for visting your State again anytime soon are now offically squelched, unless of course Governor Kathleen Blanco  wants to intervene and grant us clemency on our tickets.

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Zunch's much anticipated and long awaited SEO seminar in Beijing took place Saturday, and  Zunch China’s president Terrence Ou was a hit with the audience.

The one-day seminar, titled “Third Generation Web Development & Unlocking the Potential of Search Engine Optimization” (hey, Terrence likes a long title, okay?), attracted more than 200 attendees from a wide array of China's leading eCommerce site owners and managers. The audience attendees included representatives from China Net, the number one Chinese Internet Service Provider.

Attendees had the opportunity to learn the latest in Web development concepts and the search engine optimization (SEO) technology offered by Zunch.

“The seminar was very well-organized and Teacher Ou delivered his message with great energy and charm,” said General Manager Guo Li of China Publishing House of Electronics Industry, the primary organizer of the event.

 Post-seminar surveys indicated attendees were extremely satisfied with the information offered and enjoyed and appreciated Terrence's presentation. A number of students indicated that they wished the seminar had been extended into a two day long event.  

In addition to Terrence, Zunch China SEO specialists Bill Shi and Penny Wang also spoke to attendees about their knowledge and experience in performing SEO.

The audience was also impressed by Zunch China’s leadership the search engine optimization industry and indicated they looked forward to working with Zunch in the near future.

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Zunch's own Terrence Ou has left the building and is heading East.

Far East to be exact.

Terrence is headed to China where he'll attend a conference to promote his book, SEO Unlocked, discuss search engine optimization with over 100 Chinese business leaders and meet with current Zunch China clients as well as a few prospects.

So we won't be seeing Terrence hanging around our hallways for the next 30 days.

We'll keep you posted on details as Terrence sends them back.

For the time being, he's settling in for a very, very long flight.

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Over at the SEO 2.0 blog, Zunch was recently recognized for both its skills in the art of SEO and SEM, as well as our design for our Website.The blog ranks Zunch among the top 15 SEO/SEM company sites for a compelling design for the company's own Website.

  Hey, we appreciate the recognition, but what’s up with the sombrero, dude?

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Sports Illustrated runs a weekly "This Week's Sign of the Apocalyse" wherein it publishes a short comment on some event that either shows how trivial we are or indicates that, yes, civilization as we know it is coming to a end.

Well, this week's sign of the apocalypse on the Internet comes to us from a Massachusetts doctor who has diagnosed and treated himself for Wii-itis, a condition similar to tennis elbow that results from extended sessions playing the Nintendo Wii.

I'm not a gamer, but from what I understand, the Wii, unlike most game consoles that allow gamers to remain sedentary, requires players to simulate movements, such as swinging a tennis racket.

The treatment? Rest and ibuprofen.

I'd suggest a further treatment, cut out the marathon sessions on the Wii.

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The company said it expects to continue to do well this year.

Really? They expect to do well? That’s like me saying I expect my kids will bug for a new Bratz doll this week.

Seriously, Google continues to amaze with their continuous revenue and profit growth. At some point you have to expect that the day will come when they actually regress a bit, but that day seems to be a very long way off.

A few skeptics on Wall Street keep saying the day will come when Google can’t keep it up and the stock collapses, but the true test for the prescience of these Chicken Littles is for them to actually tell us when Google will stumble.

Despite those skeptics, I don’t know if you follow the stock market, but I’m pretty sure no one is shorting the stock right now.

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 Microsoft is doing some saber-rattling again.

 Microsoft executives said Thursday that they intended to respond to the growing threat to its software posed by rivals like Google that offer Web-based versions of its applications. The executives said Microsoft would add similar Internet services to its own well-known desktop applications like Office or Excel.

During a meeting with financial analysts, Microsoft executives laid out the clearest description to date of Microsoft’s plan to compete with companies offering free or lower-cost “software as a service.”

You can read all about it in this New York Times article.

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Meanwhile, Wikia, Inc., the for-profit company developing the open source search engine Search Wikia, has acquired Grub, a distributed crawler platform, from LookSmart.

Distributed crawlers are software programs used by search engines to roam the web to discover pages that are then downloaded and indexed for searching.

 The crawlers operated by the major search engines are highly centralized, operating out of massive data centers, and are capable of finding and downloading millions of pages per minute. Wikia acquired Grub as part of its plan to build a "transparent and open platform for search," according to Jimmy Wales, co-founder and chairman, Wikia, Inc.

Wales is currently on a mission to enter the search engine market,  with an eye toward toppling Google’s pre-eminence as the number one search engine.

Well, good luck with all that, Jimmy.

It seems everybody’s got Google in their gun sites, although Google just kind of nonchalantly goes about it business, cranking out new products and services (admittedly, some of which crash and burn pretty quickly).

And it’s interesting that Microsoft finds itself playing catch-up in offering office suite products on-line. Could it be that they’ll see their dominance slip away, ala their experience in the search engine market? This is a market still in it's infancy, but given the way the Net works, online office products for word processing and spread sheets could sudden;y becoem the rage in as a little as a few months. 

It’s too bad these companies can’t get into a "Texas Cage Match." You know, lock all three in a cage and let them wrestle one another for dominance. A kind of “Smackdown” Web match.

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My dream job would probably be to be employed as a combination movie critic/book critic. And I do write reviews on Amazon.com, although not nearly as many as I once did.

Moreover, ever since an incident I had in thrid grade, I've been fascinated by ghosts, off-and-on.

With the above in mind, I recently watched the movie "An American Haunting." My wife thought it was good, not great. I couldn't bring myself to fully enjoy it because...well...it is based on historical events related to "The Bell Witch" and a lot of it was inaccurate (including their reason for the incidents which led to the haunting that was the subject of the film).

So who's the Bell Witch? Actually, there's not a witch named Bell. Bell was the name of the family that was reputed to have been cursed by a witch. According to accounts of what occurred, an invisible entity, which came to be known as the "Bell Witch" by many, literally tortured the Bell family between 1817 and 1821.

What makes this story so famous is that the events were witnessed by numerous people, including Andrew Jackson, who would one day become the seventh president of the United States.

Making the incident all the more interesting is the fact that when John Bell, Sr. died, the entity claimed credit for poisoning him (yes, this ghost would actually talk to people). It's the only recorded incident of an alleged ghost actually killing someone.

I can't go into the details of all that happened to the Bells, there's no where near enough space here. But you can learn more about the Bell Witch at the Bell Witch Website and the Bell Witch Fan Site. Do a search for "the Bell Witch" and you'll find plenty of other sites with info on it.

If you do get interested, I suggest you watch the movie before reading about the Bell Witch. Standing alone, the movie is actually rather good. It's just when you've read soemmof the historical accounts of what happened, you really have to question a lot of things in the film, including its resolution as to what the basis of the haunting was.

Let's just say, whether you believe in ghosts or not, the Bell Witch is a fascinating subject.

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  Google's share of the search engine market actually slipped slightly in June 2007, but it still gained in overall number of searches.

 Confused? Don’ t be.

 comScore, the marketing research company that tracks search engine data, tells us that over 8 billion searches were conducted on the Web in June, up from 3.6 billion in May.

 The number of searches conducted on Google actually went up, but as a percentage of overall searches, Google was down a bit.

 Here are the latest percentage of searches for the top five search engines in the United States for June 2007, as reported by comScore:

•   Google Network: 49.5%, down from 50.7% in May 2007
•  Yahoo Network: 25.1%, down from 26.4%
•  Microsoft Network: 13.2%, up from 10.3%
•  Ask.com Network: 5.0%, no change
•  AOL (Time Warner) Network: 4.2%, down from 4.6%

Here are the raw numbers:

•  Google Network: 4 billion searches, up from 3.6 in May 2007
•  Yahoo Network: 2 billion searches, no change
•  Microsoft Network: 1.1 billion searches, up from 757 million in May 2007
•  Ask.com Network: 403 million searches, up from 376 million in May 2007
•  AOL (Time Warner) Network: 341 million searches, down from 364 million in May 2007

 Microsoft  and Ask must be doing something right. Microsoft  had a huge gain, breaking the 1 billion mark for the first time. Ask broke 400 million for the first time, perhaps reflecting their new look and new services that have drawn raves from numerous corners. Take a look at Ask to see what i'm talking about.

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This group represents 40% of the US population.

Even more impressive, they account for 70% of US net worth.

Who are they?

You might just be one of them (as I am). They're the Baby Boomers, who together with their elders increasingly are a market segment that many Websites ignore.

and if you are in the B-toC arena, you simply can't ignore this market. Sure, everyone seems to be chasing that 18-40 age bracket who are so hard to market to, but we're talking about a group that's got real money to spend that many companies seem to ignore.

And they are wired. According to a recent study by ThirdAge, Inc. and JWT BOOM, over 70% of this group have Broadband connections, well above the national average.

And this group is currently spending some $7 billion a year online.

What are they looking for on the Web?

Well, too of the biggest areas they search in are health and finance. But researcxh indicates that for nearly every purchase, from buying a pizza to buying a house, they are searching the Web before making a decision.

So if your marketing is currently ignoring this segment, it's time to reconsider. The Baby Boomers represent a group with lots of disposable income, and if you're Web marketing is mising them, you're missing out on profits.

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As a Web copywriter, my attitude toward Flash is generally that it is of the devil.

It interferes with the ability of the search engine spiders to read and index Web pages. It takes an interminable time to load, steering most visitors away who have no time for such foolishness.

And, recently, it’s actually becoming a sales tool.

Copywriters, particularly those with a search engine optimization background, generally hate Flash. Flash designers, generally dislike copywriters. Kind of a “good vs. evil” thing, although I leave it to you to decide who is the good guy and bad guy here.

Flash was once the exclusive province of the artistic and those who sought to appear cool. You may recall my blog about my experience with Ted, who was so dedicated to the idea of appearing “cool” that he was sacrificing sales leads every day.

Well, I’m coming around. Not to the idea that a site needs to be cool, although if a site can be both effective, i.e., turn prospects into clients, and cool, that’s great.

No, I now see that marketers are figuring out how to make Flash work to their benefit.

Marketers and designers are figuring out how to structure Flash within a site so that it does not dominate the site and drive spiders away or take a long time to load. And when I say a long time, I’m taking into account the fact that three seconds is forever on the Web. Three seconds is long enough to drive most visitors away if they have to wait for your site to load.

Those who have worked out the structural aspects are also figuring out something else, if you make Flash and its many cousins interactive, people will stay and “interact” with it.

There are sites that now offer “talking heads”-- animated individuals who speak only when rolled over or clicked on, thereby giving the visitor the power to decide if they wish to interact or not.

Some offer games or quizzes, adding entertainment value to the site. And entertainment is becoming increasingly important in attracting younger prospects who at the age of twenty are already jaded individuals made cynical by years of advertising bombardment.

And I’m seeing many other applications which are designed to engage the prospect, rather than merely put on the Internet equivalent of a laser light show (which inevitably prove boring and dull after a few seconds of initial viewing).

As marketing learns to work with Flash, perhaps we will finally see the day when copywriters and Flash designers can stand together and say, “We actually like each other.”

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Normally I try to avoid rhyming headlines, a little too cute in msot cases. But somehow, this one seems appropriate.

You see, I come from a direct marketing writing focus. That means that I was trained to write to evoke some action out of the reader, e.g., click on a link or buy a product. To me, that should be the goal of all copy, to get the prospect to take some action a client wants them to take.

Way, way too many agencies and writers these days are focused on awards. You know what? The first ad I ever wrote, won an award. But it didn't sell squat.

And, since it didn't get anyone to part with their money, despite the award, it was a failure.

Since nearly all Zunch clients are either B-to-B or B-to-C, or both, I assume that's what they want when they ask me to write for them. "Sell our product or service." "Get the prospect to click on this link." "Convince the prospect to subscribe." Or whatever action it is the client wants the prospect to take.

Now, just because I write with a sales bent, doesn't mean my copy is sales-y. I sure as heck don't want to come off sounding like a bad car salesman.

It is possible to write interesting, attention-grabbing copy that is also creative, persuasive copy. And that's my goal every time a client asks me to write for their site.

My goal, and Zunch's goal, is to make out clients successful.

Claude Hopkins, who is considered the father of modern copywriters, once said, "The only purpose of advertising is to make sales."

I try to take it a few steps further-- "The only purpose of marketing is to create profits."

If your Website marketing isn't working, give us a call here at Zunch. I'll bet we can pump some life into it and make that a site a profit center, rather an expense on your balance sheet.

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Google has joined the list of companies opposing the law which attempts to regulate keyword bidding.

The new law would ban companies from bidding to use rivals' names as triggers for ads that appear during searches.

Oddly, Google, a company which is in the information gathering business, failed to become aware of the law until after the Utah legislature unanimously passed it. Identified as the Trademark Protection Act, Utah Governor Jon Huntsman's staff told the Associated Press that no one objected to the law before he signed it.

How did Google and others affected by this law miss the chance to fight it before it passed? No one seems to know for sure, but somehow this law managed to slip under the radar and now poses a threat to Google, and other search engines’, bottom line.

A Google spokesman told the The Salt Lake Tribune, "This law hurts consumers, violates free speech, and is inconsistent with both established U.S. trademark law and our capitalist system."

To be fair, the law received little press attention before it was passed.

Now Google and others might end up challenging the law in court. As a guy who still occasionally practices law, I can tell you there's a very good chance the law will be struck down.

But in the meantime, it's set to take effect on June 30.

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Hey, I forgot to mention the latest addition to our sales department-- Daniel Zavala.

Welcome to the Zunch Bunch, Daniel.